North West Divided Over Proposed National Dialogue

The Kano State government has kicked against the proposed National Conference by the Federal Government, saying it will only succeed in creating more confusion, mistrust and uncertainty in the nation’s political arena.     

Presenting the position of the state to the Presidential National Dialogue Committee at the North West zone public hearing in Kaduna, Kano State Deputy Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said that the conference was a strategy to divert the attention of Nigerians on real issues.

“It is politically designed by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan to cause confusion between and among ethnic nationalities and make the country more divided than united,” Mr. Ganduje said.

The conference hall of Umaru Musa Yar’adua Centre, venue of the public hearing, was filled to capacity with different groups drawn from across the seven states that make up the North West zone.

The gathering had only one agenda, which required the people of the zone to make their positions on the proposed National Dialogue known to the committee.

While Kaduna State, Katsina State and some non-governmental organizations supported the proposed dialogue and identified areas that the committee should address during the conference, the Arewa Youth Organization insisted that the proposed dialogue was a waste of time and resources.

According to Kano State deputy governor, the proposed dialogue is unnecessary since the National Assembly is already reviewing the constitution.

Other issues such as capital punishment for corrupt leaders, offshore and onshore dichotomy, equal revenue sharing formula, power sharing among the geo-political zones and equal delineation of constituencies dominated submissions made by representatives of the various groups and tribes in the zone.

The committee will be in the zone for two days to gather submissions from individuals and groups.

Many have stressed the need for the committee to make use of the presentations and suggestions while hoping that resolutions reached at the end of the conference would be fully implemented by those concerned.